Centrifugal apparatus for cleaning and conditioning air



July 14, N 1936. 2,047,424

CENTRIFUGAL APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND CONDITIONING AIR H. MCCORNACKFiled July 5, 195s Paella-d July 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECENTRIFUGAL APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND CONDITIONING AIR My invention,which is a complement to my invention, Air washer and carburetors, underUnited States Patent No. 1,661,540, relates to improvements in thatclass of air cleaners and conditioners in which a liquid is used as acleaning and conditioning agent and in which the air to be treated isintroduced into a cylinder tangentially and sets up a whirling motion ofthe air as it contacts with the cleaning liquid.

Since cold liquid contacting with warm air causes the air to contractand eliminate moisture and, since warm liquid contacting with cold aircauses the air to expand and absorb moisture and, since this apparatusfunctions to satisfy the aflinity of air for liquid at all temperatures,the title Air cleaner and conditioner describes its inclusiveapplication.

My Air washer and carburetor, under United States Patent No. 1,661,540,incorporates means for returning the cleaning and conditioning liquid tothe whirling air by causing the air to flow upward thru the cleaning andconditioning liquid in the catch-basin. My apparatus of the presentapplication improves upon my original device by the use of a pluralityof restricted passages thru which the liquid is sucked up from thecatchbasin in attenuated streams by the high velocity inflow of thetangential currents of air and is then discharged as finely atomizedsprays of liq- 60 uid into the whirling air in the cylinder.

The important object'of my present invention air cleaner and conditionerembodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional plan on line 2-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation on line 3-3 of Fi u e 2.

50 Referring to the drawing, a cylinder 2 is shown in which the air iscleaned and conditioned, having a series of tangential inlets l--l thruwhich the air flows into the cylinder 2 and an exit 3 for the outflow ofthe air from the cylinder 2.

56 The cleaning liquid is held, by atmospheric pressure, in reservoir 4which has a conduit 5 leading from the reservoir 4 to catch basin 2x. Aparabolic surface 1 of the liquid in the catch basin 2:2, which is setup by the whirling action of the air in the cylinder 2, when theapparatus is in 5 operation, extends above the intake ends of the seriesof passages 66.- These passages 6-6 extend upward to the discharge endsof the tangential air inlets l|. Cylinder 2 has a peripherial opening 8athru which the whirling liquid 10 and dirt are ejected, against theresistance or vacuum in the cylinder, tangentially into conduit 8 anddischarged thru trap 8a. 9 is a trap for the dirt and i0 is an outletvalve.

thereby shutting ofi the inflow of the atmosphere 20 to reservoir 4 andthe corresponding outflow of the water. The air to be treated, as itflows thru tangential passages ll into the cylinder 2, sucks up theliquid from the catch basin 2:: in attenuated streams thru restrictedpassages 6 and dis- -25 charges it in finely atomized jets tangentiallyinto the vortex of air and water in the cylinder. The liquid and dirtfrom the air is thrown out- Wardand caused to rotate .on the wall of thecyl 7 inder. The cleaned and conditioned air, at the axis of the vortex,passes out thru exit 3 and the liquid which has not been absorbed by theair falls to catch basin 2:: to again return thru another round ofatomization.

To efiectively accomplish this atomizing action, it is important thatthe inlet ends of passages 6 be kept submerged practically all oi thetime. This is provided for in the relation of passages inlets 6 to theoutlet of liquid conduit 5. As the liquid in the cylinder 2 is exhaustedand the liquid surface in the catch basin 2:: is lowered to a pointwhere the outlet of conduit 5 is uncovered, air is let into reservoir 4and a corresponding amount of water is released into catch basin 2:: andby this means suflicient supply of water is maintained. a i

The greater frequency and intimacy of contact between the washing fluidand the air isaccomplished by the provision -in the app ratus of aplurality of restricted liquid passages arranged so that they lead frompoints below the surface of the liquid in the catch basin to points atthe discharge end ofthe tangential 'air inlets to the cylinder, in suchway that the high velocity, in-

coming streams of air suck the liquid from the 5 basin in attenuatedstreams, finely atomize it and discharge it tangentially into thewhirling air in the cylinder. The liquid, which is not absorbed by theair, is thrown by centrifugal force to the wall of the cylinder andfalls to the catch basin to be returned repeatedly thru the atomizingprocess as above described.

Where, in some of the many uses to which this apparatus may be applied,it is desired to force the air, to be treated, thru the cylinder bysuper-atmospheric pressure, the water and dirt may be automaticallyejected from the apparatus by the super-atmospheric pressure within theW1- inder. In cases where the air to be treated is drawn thru theapparatusby suction, and, when it is desired to constantly eject waterand dirt from the apparatus, this is effected automatically against theresistance of the vacuum in the cylinder, by the momentum of the air andwater as they rotate on the wall of the cylinder, supplemented by thesiphonic action of the ejected liquid, in the manner described. Butwhere the use of this apparatus does not require the constant ejectionof the water and dirt from the apparatus, pocket 9 and valve ID are usedto discharge the accumulated dirt at the will of the operator.

I claim:

1. The method of centrifugally cleaning and conditioning air by causingwashing liquid to be sucked thru restricted passages in attenuatedstreams from a liquid supply, outlets for said restricted passages beingadjacent to inflowing tangential streams of air where said liquid isexpanded into atomized jets and delivered, tangentially, into a vortexof air which is in the process of being cleaned and conditioned.

2. In the art of cleaning and conditioning air, the method of suckingliquid in a multiplicity of attenuated streams, and discharging saidstreams of liquid adjacent to inflowing tangential streams of air, wheresaid liquid is expanded into atomized jets and delivering said liquid,tangentially, into a whirling body of air which is in the process ofbeing cleaned and conditioned and of causing the liquid, which has notbeen absorbed by the air, to be repeatedly returned thru said whirlingbody of air in the process of atomization.

3. In a centrifugal apparatus for cleaning and conditioning air, avertical or substantially vertical cylindrical chamber, means forintroducing liquid into said chamber, tangential inlets for introducingair at high velocity into said chamber at its lower end and therebycausing the air and liquid to whirl, a receptacle at the lower end ofsaid chamber to receive the returned, unvaporized cleaning liquid fromsaid whirling air and passages leading from below the surface of theliquid in said receptacle thru which the liquid is sucked in attenuatedstreams by said inflowing tangential streams of air and discharged inatomized sprays into the vortex of air and liquid, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a centrifugal apparatus for cleaning and conditioning air, avertical or substantially vertical cylindrical chamber, means forintroducing liquid into said chamber, tangential inlets for introducingair at high velocity into said chamher at its lower end and therebycausing the air and water to whirl, a receptacle at the lower end ofsaid chamber to receive the returned unvaporized cleaning liquid fromsaid whirling air and means for sucking the returning liquid from thereceptacle thru restricted passages in attenuated streams anddischarging it in finely atomized jets tangentially into a vortex of airin the process of being cleaned and conditioned, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a centrifugal apparatus for cleaning and conditioning air, asdescribed in claim 4, a source of cleaning liquid supply, a conduit fromsaid liquid supply source to said receptacle and means for controllingsaid supply, substantially as described.

6. In a centrifugal apparatus for cleaning and conditioning air asdescribed in claim 4, suction means which draw the air to be cleanedthrough the apparatus, means for ejecting from the said apparatus thecleaning and conditioning liquid and the dirt, by the momentum of thewhirling air and liquid in the cylinder, substantially as described.

HERBERT McCORNACK.

